Stratford LGBTQIA+ community cuts ribbon on rainbow crosswalk, despite recent acts of vandalism
Stratford Mayor David Chess says police are getting closer to finding out who’s responsible for the vandalism, and the town plans to press charges.
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The show must go on.
Despite an active police investigation into who vandalized the new rainbow crosswalk near Stratford High School, town officials joined the LGBTQIA+ community to officially cut the ribbon on it Thursday night.
"Somebody did burnouts on an e-bike on it," said Colleen Hargrove, founder of Love is Love Stratford CT. "“Two nights ago, somebody hit it with black paint. Like they poured black paint almost through every color of it."
When she went to apply a new coat of paint to cover the damages Wednesday night, Hargrove says nearly two dozen people from the community came out to help her.
“That crosswalk means we’re all inclusive, and everybody’s welcome," Hargrove says. "Whether it’s there or not, we’re not going anywhere. The message is stronger and bigger than that crosswalk."
Stratford Mayor David Chess says police are getting closer to finding out who’s responsible for the vandalism, and the town plans to press charges.
“We’re not fooling around. This is about respecting each other," Mayor Chess says. "There are always going to be haters, there are always going to be people out there who feel they have to be negative. I don’t know why their hearts are closed, but that’s where they are."
King Street is a town road, and Stratford recently passed an ordinance that paved the way for the rainbow crosswalk to happen.
"I’ve heard a lot of stuff about it being here at a high school," Stratford resident Tom Evans says. "When we think about the suicide rates among the LGBTQIA+ community because kids can’t be themselves... they get kicked out of their houses, they get abused by their peers… it’s really important that we have something this significant here to help take care of them."
Mayor Chess says the town is open to allowing other advocacy groups to have their own crosswalks, as long as it meets the requirements.
